Endless Throne - Chapter 11

“You’ve been asleep for three days.”

“Zhou Yuan would be very happy if he knew you were awake.”

Song Yao’s gaze fell on Lin Yebai’s forehead, unconsciously lingering there.

Over the past three days, Lin Yebai hadn’t changed much, except for the silver character that had appeared on his forehead, unlike any known writing system.

Song Yao had never seen such an anomaly on anyone else.

Lin Yebai lightly touched his forehead, his fingertip landing precisely where the character was located, and the scene from his dream reappeared before his eyes.

A blood moon hung in the sky, with an empty throne below.

Cold winds carrying the stench of blood swept across the wasteland, grotesquely twisted monsters, dismembered limbs… everything felt too real to be just a dream.

In comparison, the clean and tidy room seemed thin and insubstantial.

“How do you feel?” Song Yao asked.

“Acceptable,” Lin Yebai glanced several times at the needle in the back of his hand. Song Yao noticed that the bottle was nearly empty and called someone to remove the IV.

A man with fluffy fox ears and a bushy fox tail pushed open the door. He wore a white coat with one hand in his pocket and maintained an expressionless face. After making eye contact with Lin Yebai, his cheeks turned crimson, even the corners of his eyes flushed pink. Despite maintaining his serious demeanor, his tail began to wag involuntarily.

“This is Xiahou Yun, he used to be a surgeon,” Song Yao said.

He voluntarily added, “He likes good-looking people. As long as they’re attractive, he reacts this way.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Lin Yebai showed an understanding expression.

Even so, the doctor’s tail was wagging unusually fast.

“Your constitution is very weak… the fact that you’re still alive is, frankly, quite strange.”

Xiahou Yun was probably once a serious person. He maintained little expression, with a slightly deep voice and a subtly alluring tone at the end of his sentences that was barely perceptible if one listened carefully. He asked earnestly:

“According to Song Yao, Mr. Lin, you can face mid-level aberrants head-on without being at a disadvantage?”

“Just lucky,” Lin Yebai found it difficult to take his eyes off Xiahou Yun’s tail.

The fox tail was pure white without a hint of discoloration, and looked very fluffy.

And it kept wagging back and forth.

“Would you like to touch it?” Xiahou Yun glanced at his disobedient tail.

“May I?” Song Yao immediately reached out.

“You may not.” Xiahou Yun’s tail skillfully dodged Song Yao’s hand.

Song Yao grabbed at nothing and asked in surprise:

“I thought you couldn’t control your tail?”

“I’m not controlling it…” Xiahou Yun raised an eyebrow slightly.

Song Yao began to ponder.

After removing the needle, Xiahou Yun pressed a cotton swab against the puncture, making eye contact with Lin Yebai:

“As your current attending physician, I need to better understand your body.”

Song Yao gave a light cough.

“Why are you still here?” Xiahou Yun seemed surprised.

“Should I be under the bed?” Song Yao felt it necessary to keep an eye on Xiahou Yun to prevent this experienced player from corrupting Mr. Lin.

“What bed?” Zhou Yuan happened to enter from outside, very curious.

“Brother Lin, you’re awake!” He immediately glided to the bedside, carrying a plump hen in his hand. Like showing off a treasure, he turned the chicken around, smiling.

“This chicken is really heavy, weighing dozens of pounds. I’ll make chicken soup for Brother Lin tonight.”

The hen was several times larger than an ordinary chicken, nearly half a person’s height, with its bottom dragging on the ground. Suddenly, it froze, then strained hard and pushed out a gigantic egg.

[I Am a Little Green Dragon]: That survival instinct!

[The Ordinary Me]: The list of things I can hit on just grew!

[Truth Supreme]: No way, sir, even a hen…you would..

[The Ordinary Me]: I was talking about the fox tail guy, but I guess this works too…

Lin Yebai had just awakened, and the livestream automatically activated. Familiar viewers quickly appeared.

“Cluck cluck! Cluck cluck!” The hen raised its neck and crowed.

Zhou Yuan was deeply moved, looking at the hen with extremely benevolent eyes.

“This chicken can still lay eggs. Nice, we can keep it and have eggs to eat every day…”

“Let me know when you kill it. I can help debone it and research what differences exist between this hen and normal chickens,” said Xiahou Yun, looking at the hen with sincere friendliness.

“Sure, when it stops laying eggs, we’ll stew it. One pot probably won’t be big enough,” Zhou Yuan agreed with a smile. After Xiahou Yun left, he rubbed his arms and whispered to Lin Yebai.

“I don’t know why, but whenever I see Dr. Xiahou, I feel a chill.”

Song Yao had other matters to attend to. As soon as Xiahou Yun left, he followed, putting on a mask and sunglasses before exiting.

“Brother Lin, you were asleep the whole time. We couldn’t wake you up no matter how we tried, so we were very worried and brought you here,” said Zhou Yuan.

“Are you still tired?” Zhou Yuan asked.

Lin Yebai shook his head. After waking up, his perception and hearing had expanded several times. It was as if a layer of gauze had been washed away from the world, bringing everything one step closer to reality.

Just as Zhou Yuan said, he also felt that Xiahou Yun was not as simple as he appeared on the surface.

Xiahou Yun’s gaze contained not only elements of appreciation but also an almost obsessive curiosity that instinctively made one feel wary.

“There’s no way to tell Brother Lin’s aberration direction. Only this mark appeared…”

“Erlang Zhenjun was like this too. Maybe it’s the Heavenly Eye.”

Zhou Yuan’s gaze fell on Lin Yebai’s forehead. The silver character had a flowing light on its surface, adding a sense of majesty.

It had to be said that this mark complemented Lin Yebai perfectly, enhancing his originally aloof and lofty temperament, making him seem even more transcendent, like a deity walking among mortals.

Lin Yebai was also familiar with Erlang Zhenjun; perhaps the two worlds shared commonalities in their mythological legends.

“Old Wang isn’t here?”

“He said he had something he couldn’t get away from, so he didn’t come to the shelter. I haven’t mentioned it to anyone else.”

“I don’t know what’s going on with Old Wang. He won’t let me into his room either.”

“Could it be…”

Zhou Yuan once again displayed a profound, wise look in his eyes, supporting his chin.

“Not letting me in, what could be the reason?”

“We’ll know once we investigate,” Lin Yebai used the hair tie offered by Zhou Yuan to bind his long hair, planning to return to the Tianxing Garden residential complex.

“Brother Lin, have you noticed any changes in your body? Like increased strength? Or invulnerability, fire-breathing, water-spitting, invisibility?”

Zhou Yuan was very curious, feeling that this mark must be extraordinary.

“No,” said Lin Yebai.

Lin Yebai picked up the bone knife, and Zhou Yuan immediately followed. Just as they exited, they ran into Xiahou Yun.

He was holding a thick book titled “Work Log,” having just written the last line, and couldn’t find the cap for his pen, so he casually tucked the pen behind his fox ear. Upon seeing Lin Yebai, his eyes lit up, as if looking at a rare treasure.

“Everyone who has undergone aberration shows animal characteristics, more or less. You are the only exception.”

“Currently, there are three possibilities.”

“First, humans have a new direction of aberration, perhaps related to characters, but the numbers are rare.”

“Second, you haven’t completely aberrated yet, and will eventually become like us.”

“Third, see this hen? It’s merely grown in size but hasn’t sprouted eight wings or four legs. In animals, the direction of aberration tends to be simpler, without changing their initial form…”

“Are you implying something?” Zhou Yuan frowned.

“Cluck cluck! Cluck cluck!” The hen also called out twice in agreement. Its throat seemed to be blocked by something. It stretched its neck, shook its head, and spat out a flame.

“Cluck cluck!” The hen proudly puffed out its chest.

“So it’s actually a precious fire-breathing chicken…” Zhou Yuan stroked the hen’s wing, marveling at it.

“…” Xiahou Yun was momentarily speechless.

“Farewell,” Lin Yebai led Zhou Yuan away.

Zhou Yuan had originally planned to leave the hen at the shelter, but now, because of the hen’s fire-breathing ability, he became even more fond of it and carried it along, occasionally checking on it.

In case of danger, could it breathe out a sea of fire?

Xiahou Yun watched helplessly as the hen was carried away, wanting to say something but holding back.

“Mr. Song, we’re going out for a while.”

Before leaving, Lin Yebai ran into Song Yao and took the initiative to speak.

“Be careful. Try not to go out at night, and stay in well-lit areas.”

“I hope Mr. Lin will join us in the migration.”

Song Yao still hadn’t given up on the idea of keeping Lin Yebai.

Compared to Xiahou Yun, people like Lin Yebai and Zhou Yuan were purer and more loyal.

“The terrain here isn’t ideal. The sea level is rising, and this place might be submerged in the future,” Song Yao said seriously.

“Thank you, I’ll consider it,” Lin Yebai still politely declined.

“Brother Song, I’m taking this chicken back with me. I’ll catch a few more for you tomorrow to add to your menu.”

Zhou Yuan smiled, causing several people to become momentarily distracted. Among the many aberrants in the shelter, Xiahou Yun and Zhou Yuan were the most attractive.

Xiahou Yun’s white coat constantly gave people a sense of pressure. Most people met him because they were injured, lying on the examination table, being cut open and stitched up by him. The anesthetic was never enough, and Xiahou Yun operated directly, becoming the embodiment of a demon.

Zhou Yuan was different. His personality was simple, sunny, and cheerful. It seemed like nothing could make him sad, and there wasn’t a hint of darkness in his heart. In this environment, he shone like the sun.

Unfortunately, his hair was too terrifying, and only Lin Yebai dared to approach within three meters of him.

Zhou Yuan’s driving skills had improved significantly. The car radio was on, and this time it was broadcasting the shelter’s migration notice:

“This city is not suitable for long-term residence as it’s impossible to grow crops on a large scale to make the shelter self-sufficient. Heavy rain is expected soon, and the roads will be quickly damaged by aberrated animals and plants…”

“We have reached an agreement with the northern shelter and decided to migrate as soon as possible. We hope everything goes smoothly.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yuan asked.

“Brother Lin, should we join the shelter and migrate with them?”

“Let’s observe for now,” Lin Yebai wasn’t familiar with the shelter.

“I think it’s okay. It would be better if Old Wang could come with us…”

Zhou Yuan began to talk about his recent daily life. He and Song Yao had been searching for survivors in the city, rescuing people and bringing them back to the shelter.

However, his snake-tailed appearance made it difficult for people to trust him, often making the terrified civilians even more frightened.

He had given up on search and rescue and decided to join the resource collection team instead.

The shelter was indeed not far, less than an hour’s drive away.

The residential complex was messier than a few days ago. Dried bloodstains could be seen every few steps. Most plants had withered, leaving only a few abnormally tall plants with twisted limbs and bleached bones entangled in their roots. The once vibrant leaves were now covered with black and red patterns, like a series of ghostly faces.

At the entrance to their building, the corridor was completely blocked by spider webs.

“I wonder if Old Wang is home?”

Zhou Yuan used his snake tail to clear a path for people to enter, letting Lin Yebai go first before following and then repairing the gap to minimize the opening.

“Old Wang, look what good stuff I brought back!”

Zhou Yuan was still holding the hen.

Old Wang wasn’t home; the door was locked from inside.

Zhou Yuan half-squatted, letting a small snake crawl into the keyhole. After fiddling with it for a bit, the door opened.

[Watermelon Patch Sinner]: New lock-picking method acquired!

[Braised Spare Ribs]: Snake shocked! Unexpectedly can be used like this?

A black shadow crawled out from the door crack, only to be pinned down by Zhou Yuan’s tail.